My Guardian Angel
by starry night blue
Summary: [COMPLETE!] Megumi, a wellknown shrink in Japan, faces a problem and she needs a listening ear…so, when a particular patient [Sano] steps into her office, the tables turn and she becomes the patient…
1. Chapter 1

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…not Sano, not Megumi…not a single one!**

**I've always been trying to come up with a good Sano/Megumi fic, and when this idea popped into my head, I just couldn't wait to write it. **

**Enjoy!**

**MY GUARDIAN ANGEL **

'It's all your fault! My son is dead because of you!'

'Mrs. Yamachi…please…'

'I'm gonna sue you for not taking proper care of my Taito! I'm gonna see to you ending up in jail where you belong…even if it's the last thing I do!'

'Listen to me! I had nothing to…'

'No, you listen to me! You're going down, Megumi Takani! And I'll make…'

Megumi sighed in exasperation and returned the phone receiver to its place. She pulled the newspaper lying on her desk towards her.

BOY COMMITS SUICIDE screamed up at her in bold, block letters.

'Taito Yamachi, a 16-year-old teenager, was found dead at the foot of a pedestrian bridge yesterday at 6 a.m. in the morning. The boy had committed suicide by jumping off the bridge before landing 75 feet away on solid ground and meeting his death. Taito's shocked parents say that they have no idea what made him do that…"Taito was a sweet, sensible boy!" a sobbing Mrs. Taito insists. "No way would he've committed suicide with his own will!". More on the case on page 17."'

Megumi threw the paper away and buried her face in her hands, feeling the tears build up in her eyes.

Three weeks ago the Yamachis had brought their son to her office, along with the boy's problem of having being causing himself self-injury over the last two months for no particular reason.

As a professional shrink, Megumi handled Taito's problem with care, studying it from every prospective and point. She had had many interviews with Taito, trying to figure out the reason behind all this, talking to him in a way which wouldn't frustrate or infuriate him.

In the third week, Taito seemed to be responding to the treatment, his attitude became friendlier and less sharp, and he claimed to have stopped causing himself any injuries.

He had also said that he didn't need come and see her anymore.

This was against her better judgment, but his parents were so happy by the progress they ended the treatment immediately.

Two days later, the results of this rash decision were printed on the front page of each and every newspaper in the country.

She had rather expected this, but she never expected the Yamachis to come attacking her with the death of their son. Wasn't it them who had ended their son's treatment? Weren't they the ones who refused to listen to her when she tried to convince them to go on with the treatment?

So, how did it suddenly become her fault?

Feeling upset and aggravated, she started sobbing.

_It's not fair! It's simply not fair!_

Suddenly, the intercom crackled on, and her secretary's voice filled the room.

'Dr. Takani, I've got a patient waiting here for his appointment' she said.

'Tell him to go away, Ikue…I don't feel like talking to anyone' Megumi muttered.

'But this patient has come asking to see you for the last two days, but you were always busy to see him' Ikue replied.

Megumi sighed. 'Fine, let him in' she said. 'But just him, alright?'

'Okay' Ikue agreed and disconnected.

Megumi quickly dried away her tears. She checked her reflection in the mirror, and heaved a sigh of relief when it seemed okay.

There was a knock on the door, and a man with spiked brown hair poked his head inside.

'Do come in, sir' she said pleasantly.

'Thanks' he said, stepping inside and shutting the door after him. 'I'm so glad you agreed to see me, doctor'

Megumi nodded. 'Have a seat, please' she said, indicating the leather couch before her desk.

The man plopped down on the couch, looking extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

Megumi noticed that, and smiled reassuringly at him. 'Let's start by you telling me a little about yourself' she said.

'Okay, what do you want to know?' he asked.

'I'd like to know your name first' she said.

'Uh, right…it's…um…Sanosuke Sagara' he answered.

'Okay, Mr. Sagara…what do you do?' she asked.

'I'm a police officer' he told her.

'Oh…well, then, are you married? Do you have kids or…?' she said.

'No, I'm single, I live alone downtown' he said with an edge in his voice that told her to stop asking questions about him.

'Okay…so, what's your problem, Mr. Sagara?' she asked.

'Okay, two weeks ago, this girl showed up at the station saying that there's a guy stalking her or something…she was really scared and worried…' he said. 'She said she'd been receiving phone calls in the middle of the night from this guy and he's been threatening her and everything…anyway, the girl clearly wanted a bodyguard'

'So they assigned you to be the one, I presume?' she asked.

'Yeah' he admitted. 'Anyway, I took up the job and stuck to the girl like glue…of course, I always kept my distance and everything, so that stalker wouldn't suspect that the police was on the case…and I was really good at being the bodyguard, even the girl said so'

'What happened next?' Megumi asked.

'Well, after a while, the girl said that the stalker's gone and that she hadn't been receiving any calls lately…she said that I could leave' he went on. 'Of course, that was against my better judgment as a police officer…the stalker could be just lying low until I go or something, before striking again…but the girl wouldn't listen, and I couldn't force myself on her, and so I left'

'And…?' Megumi urged him, rather expecting what she was going to hear next. This guy's problem was so familiar…

'The girl died…that guy came in the middle of the night and shot her dead' he said, rather irritated. 'Anyway, the girl's folks came in the next day and started showering me with accusations, of how I hadn't done my job well, and of how it's my fault that she died, and…'

'But that's not fair!' Megumi suddenly cried out.

'Huh?' Sanosuke looked up, startled by her outburst.

Megumi flushed. 'Uh…I'm sorry, it's just…I think you've heard about that kid who committed suicide, right?' she asked.

'Yeah, of course I did, I mean, my department's investigating the case' he said.

'Well, I don't know if you know this…but I was that boy's shrink' she murmured.

'So?' he asked, promptly.

'Well, the boy had this problem of self-injury, that's where you injure yourself on purpose out of frustration and…anyway, the point is, the boy's parents ended the treatment sooner than what was meant to be, and he went and committed suicide…and the…' she said.

'The parents came in saying it's your fault, huh?' he continued for her.

'Yeah!' she said, agitated. 'I mean, what's their problem! It's not like I told him to jump off the bridge or something!'

'Hey, your problem's like mine!' he exclaimed.

'I guess, that's what got me so frustrated…' she murmured. 'Anyway, I'm sorry…you were saying?'

'Oh…well, I told the parents that their daughter had told me to leave so it wasn't really my fault, but they wouldn't listen to any excuses' he mumbled.

'Well, I don't see the problem here, Mr. Sagara…I mean, if the parents are suing you or something, you should go talk to a lawyer, not a psychiatrist…' Megumi told him.

'No! It's not that! I mean, I know I haven't done anything, but I ended up feeling guilty…and that feeling's been growing ever since' he said. 'My friends told me to forget about, but I can't, I don't know how…I really need you to help me, doc…I'm so sick of seeing that girl in my sleep every time, with her shattered skull and everything! I just can't seem to get her out of my head!'

Megumi stared at him, lost for words. This guy's problem was so like hers, but…how could she help him when she had failed to solve her own! Was she, Megumi Takani, the best shrink in Japan, going to fail in doing her job?

She felt the tears building up in her eyes for the second time this day. But she didn't want to cry now, not in front of her patient.

'Doctor, is everything alright?' Sano asked, concerned.

'Yes, yes, I'm fine' she choked.

'Uh…I could come some other day if you want' he said, looking uncomfortable.

'No, I'm sorry…stay' she said, smiling at him. 'I just feel so subjugated, and I just hate having to go through that feeling again!'

'Again?' he repeated. 'Where you ever wronged before?'

At that moment, Megumi forgot that she was the doctor and he was the patient, she forgot that she was supposed to be solving his problem instead of sitting here babbling about hers…she just felt happy to at last find some one to listen to her, to find some one who actually cared about her problems…

'It's always been like this, ever since I was a kid' she murmured. 'I'm the eldest child, I've had to take care of my younger sibs, I was supposed to help my mother in the daily chores while my brothers and sisters played and enjoyed themselves…and whenever something went wrong, I was the one to be blamed…everything was simply my fault! If my sister broke a plate, then it's my fault for not watching over her…if my brother hurt himself, it was my fault for not taking proper care of him…it was simply unfair!'

Sano nodded, leaning forward in his chair to listen better.

'Nobody cared about my feelings, about what I had to say, my ideas were always rejected, my appearance always picked on…' she said. 'I was just lucky to be allowed to go to school, and it was like a sanctuary to me…and when I finished university and moved away, I thought that I was finally going to be given the justice and freedom I've been deprived of…but I was wrong'

'Why? What happened?' he asked.

'My work simply wasn't appreciated, when things didn't work out for the people I treated, they blamed me for it' she said unhappily. 'You think I achieved all this glory and fame and good reputation in a snap…no, it took me years of hard work to get this…and I can't bear to see all of this going down the drain and destroyed by the Yamachis! It's simply not fair!'

'Oh, doctor…' Sano murmured.

'It's not fair!' she choked, feeling the tears rolling down her cheeks. 'Everything's always my fault, and it's not fair!'

She buried her face in her hands and sobbed, relieving all her anger and aggravation along with her tears.

She felt strong arms wrapping around her shoulders, and she sobbed harder than ever at this warm gesture, burying her face in Sano's chest.

'C'mon, Megumi…can I call you Megumi?' he asked softly, and she nodded. 'You know it's not fault, you know you haven't done anything wrong…it's not always fair, but you know you'll survive due to your knowledge of you innocence…you just have to keep telling yourself that you never did anything wrong, and you'll manage'

'I never did anything wrong' she said through her tears.

'Yes, that's it, keep going' he urged her. 'It's not your fault, it's those dumb people's fault'

Megumi laughed.

'Go on, say it' he coaxed her.

'It's not my fault, it's those dumb, stupid people's fault!' she said. 'They think they're so good and perfect when they're not!' She looked up at him. 'How did that sound?'

'Better than I said' he said, grinning.

'Oh, thank you, Sanosuke!' she said happily, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. 'I feel better already!'

'Good' he said, easing her arms away. He bent down so his face came in level with hers, and wiped her tears away gently with his thumb. 'I want you to keep that attitude, okay?'

'Don't worry, I will' she assured him, smiling.

'Good' he said, and straightened up. 'Well, doctor, I have to get going now, got work to do…it was nice talking to you'

And with that, he turned around and walked towards the door.

Megumi watched his broad figure as he left through the door, and uttered a gasp.

She had completely forgotten about Sano's problem!

She got up to her feet and hurried to the door. She looked into the corridor, but he wasn't there.

She hurried to the receptionist desk. 'Ikue, did a man with spiked brown hair pass from here?' she asked.

'You mean the man I sent to your office?' the secretary asked, looking puzzled. 'No, he didn't'

'What! But…but…' she sputtered.

Feeling totally perplexed, she walked back to her office unsteadily.

_Where the hell did he go!_

Walking into her office, she passed that couch he had occupied, and noticed a small slip of paper...and a small white feather...

She bent down and picked up the card. She smiled as she read the words written there.

'_I'll always be there to guard your back, Megumi_'

Even as she read them, she felt like she could hear the words vibrating in the room.

She squeezed the paper tightly.

'Thank you, my angel' she whispered.

It felt just great to say it, and she felt that nothing would, now, harm her, with a guardian angel such as Sanosuke watching over her.

**A/N: So, did u like it? Yes, and Sano is Megumi's guardian angel, in case u r still confused…I know it's not much, but plz be nice in ur reviews, okay?**

_**-ZEN.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**Alright, first of all I want to thank all those who reviewed my story…to be honest with you, I wouldn't have even thought of writing a chapter two if it weren't for you people…so, thanks! Ok, now I'll stop talking and let you read the second chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**MY GUARDIAN ANGEL**

**Chapter 2:**

'Thirty dollars, please'

Megumi Takani looked into her purse for the cash. She extracted a fifty dollar bill and handed it to the man behind the counter. The man accepted the money and turned to the cashier. He popped out the box, took out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to her.

'Thanks,' Megumi said, returning the cash to her purse. She noticed that the man was still watching her. 'Is something wrong, sir?'

'I think I saw you before,' the man said, thoughtfully.

Megumi's eyes widened slightly. 'No, you didn't,' she said hurriedly, zipping her purse close.

'Now I remember!' the man exclaimed. 'You're that doctor who caused that boy to commit suicide, aren't you?'

'No, I'm not,' Megumi lied, picking up her plastic bags of groceries.

'So, tell me, doc, how does it feel to kill a boy, eh?' the man asked, smiling ill-naturedly. Megumi walked past him without a second glance. 'Nice talking' to ya!'

Tears stung Megumi's eyes as she walked out of the hypermarket and headed to the parking lot. It has been two weeks since the Yamachi kid had committed suicide, and even though it had been proved she had nothing to do with it, that it was his parents' who were to be blamed since they were really careless about their son's treatment, the public didn't seem to be convinced of her innocence. She had lost a lot of her patients, and she was getting a lot of hate mail from the boy's friends, family…and other people who just thought it was amusing to insult a person.

She really couldn't cope with such pressure; it was just too much for her.

She had tried several times to hold on to that man…Sanosuke Sagara's words, to believe that he was actually there for her, that he was guarding her back like he had promised…but she was finding it really difficult. If he really was there, then why wasn't he helping her out like he said he would? Why wasn't everything turning out alright like he assured her it would? And why…just why was she still feeling this guilty about Taito Yamachi's death? He had told her that if she believed that she was innocent, then she wouldn't feel this guilt…but it just wasn't working.

Or maybe the guy wasn't her angel after all? Maybe he was just fooling around with her? Just teasing her? She hated to think of that.

She reached her car, unlocked it and dumped her groceries in the back seat. She climbed into the driver's seat, revved the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

The trip back home was quite eventless. She got there in ten minutes and pulled in through the front gate. She parked her car in the garage, and carried her groceries to the front door.

Two weeks ago, her maid, Kiki, would come and open the door for her and help her with her groceries, or help her take off her coat, and would give her a really warm greeting. But Kiki was gone now; she, too, believed that it was Megumi's fault that Taito had gone and jumped off the bridge.

She stuck her key into the lock, and was about to turn it when the door flung open. Megumi stared in shock at the man standing in the doorway.

'You're back! Finally! I've been waiting since ages!' he exclaimed happily, his brown eyes twinkling. 'Here, let me help you with those bags.'

He took the plastic bags out of her hands, and went off to the kitchen, leaving Megumi standing on the doorstep, still looking shocked. After a moment, she came back to her senses, walked into her house, and closed the door.

She walked cautiously towards the kitchen. She saw the man bustling about in the kitchen, putting away the groceries in their places. It was the same man who had come to her office two weeks ago; Sanosuke Sagara.

He saw her watching him. 'Well, how was your day? Any new patients?' he asked brightly, putting the carton of milk she had bought in the fridge.

'What are you doing here?' she said, her jaw tight.

'Well, I thought that was obvious, I'm just paying you a visit, I wanted to check on how you were doing,' he told her. He pulled out a jar of peanut butter from one of the bags. 'You know what works with peanut butter? Honey. It's simply delicious, you should try it…stop using the jelly, too much fat, it's not good for you.'

'What? How did you know I was going to use it with jelly?' she demanded, feeling slightly alarmed.

'Shucks! I've seen you at it loads of times before, I ought to know by now,' he told her. He put the jar in the fridge too, and went to examine the contents of another bag. He pulled out two items. 'You got a real sweet-tooth, don't you? Cookies and chocolate pudding?'

Megumi crossed over towards him and snatched the stuff out of his hands. Then she stepped back away from him. 'What do you want?' she asked sharply.

'Told you, I've just come to pay you a…' he said.

'No, I mean, what do you _really _want? Come to play more tricks on me?' she said angrily.

'Tricks?' he repeated blankly.

'Yes, tricks,' she repeated. She unzipped her purse and pulled a white card out of it. 'Like this, for example!'

Sano frowned at the card for a moment, and then he grinned. 'Why, this is the card I've given you!' he exclaimed.

'Yeah, it is,' she said. 'Come to give me some more cards? To tell me more lies? Like the thing about you being my angel and everything?'

'Megumi, if you really think I had been lying to you, then why did keep the card?' he asked her quietly.

'I…the card?' Megumi said, and he nodded. 'That's not the point! You still didn't tell me what you want! And how did you get in here, anyway? The door was locked!'

'Locks and doors cannot restrain angels, Megumi,' he told her, pulling himself up onto the kitchen counter.

'Back to the angel thing,' she said, sighing in exasperation. 'Will you please drop it!'

'Wait, you think I'm lying to you, don't you? Isn't that it? You don't believe me, do you?' he said, with a tone of annoyance. He reached out and snatched the packet of cookies back from her, opened it, and took out one. 'Drats!' he mumbled, munching into one.

'Huh?' she said, confused.

'Here I work up a sweat trying to be a good angel and then in the end having the girl I'm supposed to be guarding not even believe in me!' he mumbled. 'At least old Lulu believed in me! She wasn't pretty at all, but she believed in me.'

'What? Who is Lulu?' she said, looking perplexed.

'The lady I used to guard before you…she was a really nice woman, pity she died,' Sano said mournfully, and took another bite of his cookie.

'Oh, so I'm not the only one you've tricked before, then?' she said reproachfully.

'I didn't trick anyone! I _am_ an angel!' he protested. Then he looked thoughtfully at the cookie. 'Mmm! These are good! I should tell the others about them.'

'Others?' she said, blinking at him.

'Yeah, I can't guard every one on the planet now, can I? Too much trouble,' he told her. He held out the packet of cookies for her, but she turned him down. 'All the more for me then!'

'So…er…if you are an angel, where are your wings?' she asked.

'Oh, I do have wings,' he said seriously. 'I don't keep them out, though, they'd attract too much attention, know what I mean?'

'So, if I asked you, could you show them to me?' she asked, fighting the impulse to laugh.

'Do I have to?' he whined. 'I mean, I would show them to you, it's just too painful to get them out, y'know.'

'It's gonna be really hard for me to believe you if you don't show me something,' she remarked.

'I know!' he exclaimed, setting the packet aside. He slid down off the counter. 'Where do you have a full length mirror? Oh, yeah, the bedroom!'

'Wha…?' Megumi said, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and marched her out of the kitchen. He led her past the living room and to the stair-case which led to the second floor. 'The house is clean…did you clean it yourself?'

'Well, I had to do something while you were away,' he said defensively.

'Why didn't you drop at my office then?' she asked, as he led her up the stairs.

'I thought you might be busy,' he replied.

'Yeah, real busy, seeing I've got no more patients,' she muttered.

'Did you say something?' he asked.

'No, nothing,' she lied.

'Okay, we're here,' he announced, as they got to her bedroom. He opened the door and led her to the mirror which was standing in a corner.

'What are you going to do?' she demanded, curiously.

'Well, I've always wanted to see you in an evening gown…but all you seemed to wear was your business suit…it got on my nerves!' he said. 'I mean, you have such a nice body…I don't mean it in a sleazy kind of way…and you ought to wear something nice to go along with it.'

'Wait! What are you…?' she cried, getting the impression that he was about to rip the clothes of her body.

Sano snapped his fingers, and in a blink of an eye, Megumi's skirt and shirt were replaced with a beautiful navy blue evening gown.

Megumi stared in awe at her reflection. The gown was strapless, and was made of navy blue silk. It hugged her body tightly around the abdomen, and then spaced out from her waist and pooled around her feet. Her hair had been pulled up into a set of perfect curls, and a string of dazzlingly-white pearls designed her neck.

'This is…I look…' she whispered.

'Beautiful, no?' he said, looking appreciatively at his handiwork. 'That's what I'm talking about, you should wear such stuff more often; they bring out your beauty.'

'How did you do this?' she demanded.

'Told you, I'm an angel…and angels can do all sort of magic…pretty neat, isn't it?' he said, grinning happily.

Megumi massaged her temples. 'Alright, let's say you _are _an angel, and there are others like you…' she said. '…then, why have you never shown yourselves to people? Why have you never helped people out? And why do you show me yourself now, when you could've done so years ago?'

'We can't go telling people about us, they'll be wanting magical solutions for everything, but we do help them…like sometimes when you fall, we break the fall, we give you a bit of bruises and bumps when otherwise you would've ended with a serious injury…' he told her. '…and the reason I haven't shown myself to you before, is because I've just recently become your angel…'

'Recently? Was I angel-less before?' she said, incredulously.

'No! Of course not!' he said, laughing. 'But old Toyo retired, and since I had just lost Lulu, I was told to watch over you instead…'

'People like you can retire?' she said, confused.

'Of course, don't you think we have lives to run?' he said, impatiently.

'Ok…so you're my guardian, is that what you're saying?' she asked.

'Yes, I'm glad you finally believed me!' he said happily.

'And you're supposed to help me when I'm in trouble, right?' she asked.

'Yes, and that's why I came to your office the other day, I wanted to help you,' he said earnestly.

Megumi sighed and plopped down on her bed. 'Well, I'm afraid you aren't doing a great job, Mr. Angel,' she mumbled.

'I'm not?' he said.

'If you are, then why do I feel worse by the moment?' she whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek.

**A/N: So, that was it, my second chapter! How did you like it? Was it good? If it was, then could you please send me a review? I want to know whether I should continue writing this or not. **

**Wait for my next chapter!**

**_-ZEN._ **


	3. Chapter 3

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…but I honestly would've settled for Sano!**

**Hi! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, but I've been grounded, and I only got ungrounded this week. Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews! I didn't expect to get such nice feedback on my story…so thanx! And now, without any further ado…I give you chapter 3!**

**CHAPTER 3:**

Megumi Takani just sat on her bed, crying. She knew she must look pathetic, but she just kept on crying; it made her feel better, anyway. She buried her face in her hands and cried. Sano just stood by, looking utterly confused and worried.

'Er…Megumi? What's wrong? What happened?' he asked cautiously.

'Everything's wrong!' she said, looking up at him with tearful eyes. 'Everything in my miserable, lousy life has gone wrong! Business is crashing, colleagues are avoiding me, and people on the street just keep insulting me! It's all gone wrong!'

'Because of Taito…right?' Sano said quietly.

'And I had nothing to do with it! It wasn't my fault! I didn't go and tell the kid to go jump of the bridge!' she choked. 'But everybody seems to blame me for it…so I blame myself for it too.'

Again, she put her face in her hands and cried. Sano sighed and went to sit next to her. He rested a hand on her bare shoulder. 'Megumi, what did I tell you when I went to your office the other day?' he asked gently.

'You told me that it isn't my fault, and that I shouldn't be blaming myself for it,' she told him.

'Yes, exactly, so…' Sano started.

'But I can't! Nobody's helping me do it! Even you didn't help!' she said angrily, and looked defiantly at him, brushing his hand off her shoulder. 'You said you'll help, but you didn't!'

'But I did come back, didn't I?' he said. 'I came back for you now…'

'Yeah? And what did you come to do, Mr. Sagara? You think you can help me? How? You want to go change all those ideas the public have created about me? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but even magic can't do that,' she said coldly. She had stopped crying in this moment of anger.

'You know what your problem is?' he said angrily. 'You have no sense of fun!'

Megumi blinked at him. 'Excuse me…no sense of what?' she said, her eyebrows raised.

'You know, all you think about is your job, and what people think about you, and what they say about you,' he told her. 'Didn't you ever stop to think about yourself, Megumi?'

'No…because then it'll be egotism,' she said flatly.

Sano sighed, exasperated. 'See? That's what I'm talking about, you're just so professional about your life…loosen up a little!' he said.

'Well…I do loosen up from time to time,' she protested. 'I got to the country club with my colleagues and we really have fun.'

Sano rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, I've seen what you people do for fun,' he muttered. He started counting off his fingers. 'You talk about politics, medicine…you sometimes play cards…but you never gamble! That's not exactly what I would've called fun!' Megumi opened her mouth to protest but he continued talking. 'I know where you could go…there's this really amazing place where you could go and sit down in the dark, and there are these moving pictures…and the pictures tell a _story…_'

'Ha ha, very funny,' she snapped, while he grinned, looking extremely proud of himself. 'I've been to the movies a fair few times, Sanosuke, so don't go thinking I don't have any social life…I have quite many friends.'

'And where are those friends, I'd like to know?' he said challengingly.

'Huh?' she said, confused.

'I said, where are those friends? A person who leaves you when you're facing a problem is not your friend, Megumi, because real friends don't do that sort of thing,' he said softly.

Megumi fell silent. Much as she hated to admit it, this guy was right. Her so-called friends had abandoned her as soon as the word of she being responsible for Taito's death had spread around. They just left her one by one, and in the end, she had found herself all alone. She had never had a real friend.

She looked up at his handsome face, and her eyes welled with tears. He looked stricken when he saw that she was about to start crying all over again.

'No, Megumi, don't start crying again!' he said quickly, waving his arms frantically. 'Crying isn't the solution for everything!'

Megumi nearly laughed at his frantic gestures, but she just wiped the tears away from her eyes. 'You're right…I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'Ok, Sanosuke…what do you suggest I do?'

'Okay…first of all, we have to take your mind of your work, you can't probably deal with your problems when you're all stressed like that,' he told her. He snapped his fingers together. 'I know, let's go out for lunch!'

Megumi blinked again. 'Together?' she said.

'Er…yeah,' he said, frowning a bit. 'I've got to watch over you, haven't I? You didn't consider this a date, did you?'

Megumi flushed. 'No! Of course not!' she said heatedly.

Sano smiled. 'Good,' he told her. 'We're all agreed then! Where do you want to go for lunch?'

Megumi was thinking about something when he spoke to her. She noticed him looking expectantly at her. 'Er…what?' she said.

'I asked you where you wanted to go for lunch,' he said.

'Oh, anywhere decent…I really don't mind,' she said absently, and returned to her thoughts.

_Why, though? Why wouldn't you want to go on a date with me? Is something wrong with me? Are you scared of the thought of having a date with me? Am I that horrible?_

Sano was still watching her intently. 'Don't be silly, of course you're not,' he assured her.

Megumi stared at him. 'Huh?' she said, confused.

'You were just asking me if you're that horrible, and I told you you aren't,' he said simply.

'But I never asked you…you can read my mind?' she cried, feeling alarmed.

'Oh, you were thinking?' he said, and smiled sheepishly. 'I thought we were doing some form of telepathy!'

'Don't you ever do this again!' she said angrily. 'Those thoughts are private!'

Sano was now smirking. 'Yes, I gathered,' he murmured.

Megumi's flushed a deep shade of scarlet. 'Get out! Out! I need to get changed!' she shouted, pointing at the door.

Sano held up his hands as if to ward her off. 'Okay, okay, you don't have to work up a sweat over nothing,' he told her, and turned around and headed for the door.

Megumi watched his back for a moment. 'Wait…Sano,' she said softly. He stopped at the door and looked around at her. 'Did you mean it? Did you mean what you said about me not being horrible?'

Sano smiled warmly at her, and his smile sent a tingling sensation throughout her body. 'Every single word of it,' he said softly.

-

'I thought I told you somewhere _decent_?'

Megumi just stood in front of the door leading into the rowdy restaurant. All over the windows were posters of burgers, fries, shakes, hotdogs, onion rings…and she didn't like it.

'Decent restaurants don't particularly have to be places where you spend ten dollars on a bottle of water, Megumi,' he seethed. 'Besides, this place has some pretty decent food…trust me, you'll like it.'

Megumi still looked hesitant into entering this fast-food restaurant.

'Don't tell me you've never been in one of those places before,' Sano said, looking highly surprised. Megumi slowly shook her head. 'Oh, God! Come on, you're going in with me whether you want to or not.'

Sano grabbed her arm with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. He dragged her into the restaurant and pulled her right to the counter. He let go of her and pointed at the wall behind the counter, where all the meals wee displayed on screen.

'Okay, this is called fast-food, Megumi, and it's really good,' he told her. She just narrowed her eyes at him. 'Now take your pick so we can go and find ourselves an empty table.'

'Um…' Megumi scanned the meals before her; a cheese burger…a chicken burger…a hamburger…a giant hamburger. She sighed; she wasn't used to these sorts of meals. She only ate in fancy restaurants which offered fancy food. Even her maid was accustomed to preparing nothing but sophisticated meals. 'I…'

'Do you want me to choose for you?' Sano offered.

Megumi missed the sarcasm in his tone. 'Yes, please, you probably know more about these meals than I do,' she mumbled.

'Okay,' Sano said. He turned to the guy who was waiting to take their orders. 'We'll have two chicken burgers with the fries and everything that comes along.'

'Two chicken burgers coming right up,' the guy said.

Sano turned to Megumi. 'You can go sit down, this may take a few minutes,' he told her. 'I'll take the orders.'

'You mean, they don't bring it to your table themselves?' she said incredulously.

'What world do you live on, Megumi?' he said, sounding really exasperated. 'Listen, you just go sit down, okay?'

Megumi held up her hands in a surrender gesture. 'Okay, okay, whatever you say,' she agreed, and wandered off to find an empty table. She found one in a corner and plopped down on a chair. She buried her face in her hands. 'What the hell am I doing here?' she groaned.

She looked up and took a glance around the place. Teenagers, families, and there was even an old couple, crowded the place. They were eating, talking, laughing…they all seemed so happy. She wondered why she couldn't be like them. Why she couldn't enjoy the simple joys of life as they did? She felt really bitter and jealous.

She had all the cash and the fame…these people looked like normal everyday people, and yet they seemed so happy with what they've got. She, on the other hand, was utterly miserable. It wasn't fair.

'Hey, look! It's that lady doctor from the paper!' some one nearby said, and Megumi jumped. She whirled around and saw a man, who looked like he was in his thirties, pointing at her. He smiled evilly at her. 'How's _business _going, doc?'

Tears stung Megumi's eyes. She looked away from the man, and balled her hands into fists in her lap. _Stop it! Leave me alone! I did nothing to you!_

'How come you're here, doc? Why aren't you off having lunch with your society of evil doctors around the world?' the man jeered.

Megumi tried to ignore him, but she couldn't. His words were magnified twice their volume in her ears and she couldn't block them out.

A lot of people were now looking and pointing at her, whispering to their friends and snickering out loud. Megumi found she couldn't take this anymore. She stood up and hurried to the door, pushing people out of her way as she did. She pushed the door open and went outside.

When the door closed after her, she started crying again.

-

Sano saw Megumi running out of the restaurant, and he instantly became worried. He looked around and saw that a bunch of people were laughing and jeering…he didn't need anybody to tell him who they were laughing at…Megumi.

He abandoned the counter and hurried to the door. He wrenched it open and stepped outside. He started looking around for her. He spotted her in the parking lot, standing beside her car, and was obviously fumbling with her keys.

He rushed forwards towards her. When he approached, he reached out to touch her shoulder. 'Megumi…' he whispered.

Megumi turned around and slapped his hand away. She glared at him. 'Leave me alone!' she screamed. 'I hate you! Look what your brilliant idea got me! More insults! As if I needed that right now!'

'Megumi, I'm sorry…I didn't mean…I didn't know this was going to happen,' he whispered.

'Yeah, sure you didn't,' she snapped. 'Don't you angels see the future or something?'

'No, we don't,' he replied. 'Or it would've made life a lot easier, don't you think?'

'I really don't give a damn,' she snapped. 'I just want you to go away and leave me alone.'

'I know you really don't want that, Megumi,' he said softly. 'You need a friend and you know it…why don't you tell me what you _really _want?'

Megumi's chest heaved up and down. 'You want to know what I really want?' she asked, and he nodded. Megumi shook her head and her fierce expression melted into tears. 'I just want to go home.'

**A/N: Aw…wasn't that nice? So, tell me, how was chapter 3? Did it agree to your liking? I really hope it does, coz I want reviews! Lots and lots of 'em! Hehe, just review, people…and wait for my forth chappie to see how Sano works out Megumi's problem.**

_**-ZEN.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…or any anime, to be exact.**

**Hi! I'm back! Thank you so much for your reviews and support! Glad you liked chapter three, and now I present to you, chapter 4, which I hope you will equally like!**

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 4:**

Silver moonlight poured in from the open window and fell across her face. A gentle breeze rippled the curtains, and they began to slightly flap around.

Megumi woke up at the flapping sound; she was such a light sleeper. She opened her eyes and cast wary look around. She was in her room, and was sleeping on her bed. She breathed out in relief and sat up in her bed, pushing her bed sheets away from her; for a moment she actually thought she was sitting in her car while a handsome guy drove her back home from a horrible incident at a fast-food restaurant, but now she realized it had just been a dream…or at least, that's what she wanted to believe.

She didn't want to believe that an angel under the name of Sanosuke Sagara had come to her house, packed away her groceries, got her into a fabulous gown with a snap of his fingers, taken her to a fast-food restaurant and…

She paused as she heard a knock on her door. She gripped the edge of her sheets tightly as she looked apprehensively at the door. 'Who's there?' she asked, sounding rather timid.

The door opened and the handsome guy she had thought was a dream popped his head inside. 'Oh, good! You're awake!' he exclaimed, sounding happy.

_It wasn't a dream after all. _'How did I get here?' she asked him, massaging her temples.

'I offered to drive the car, remember?' he said, opening the door a bit wider so he could step inside. 'And then you fell asleep when we stopped at that traffic light at intersection 23…I didn't want to wake you up so I carried you up here.'

_He carried me? _'Yeah…yeah, right,' she said, absently. 'I guess I must've been tired.'

'And hungry,' Sano said, grinning. 'You left the restaurant before we could eat…so I packed a couple of take-away's and brought them along…wanna eat?'

Megumi nodded. 'You're right, I do feel hungry,' she admitted. 'What time is it now?'

'It's seven p.m.,' he answered. 'You slept three hours straight…go freshen up a bit and meet me downstairs in the kitchen.'

He gave her another cheerful grin before leaving the room. Megumi watched the door through which he had disappeared a moment ago for a while, before finally pushing her bed sheets away and scrambling off the bed. She slipped her feet in her slippers and shuffled to the bathroom.

She turned on the tap and let the cold water flow over her hands for a moment, before she scooped some in her hands and splashed the liquid against her face. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, and realized for the first time how disheveled and tired she looked. Feeling embarrassed at the thought that Sano actually saw her like this; she quickly dried up her face and fixed her hair, before heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

She found that Sano had already started wolfing down his burger, and scowled at him in distaste. 'Thank you for doing me the courtesy of waiting for me,' she snapped, sitting on the stool across from him.

Sano quickly swallowed his bite and wiped his mouth with a napkin. 'Sorry,' he apologized, sounding rather sheepish. 'I was rather hungry…I hadn't eaten anything today and those cookies I ate before don't count as food, if you ask me.'

Megumi just continued to scowl at him as she reached for her paper bag. 'It's your fault you hadn't eaten anything, you know,' she said sharply. 'If you hadn't taken us to that fast-food restaurant, we would've had lunch ages ago.'

'Excuse me? My fault?' he said, incredulously. 'May I remind you that you're the one who walked out of the restaurant?'

Megumi chose not to respond, and pulled out her burger. She examined it through narrowed eyes. 'Are you sure this is edible?' she asked after a moment.

'I'm eating, aren't I? And I haven't dropped dead of poisoning yet, so I guess you could take that as a good sign,' he said, mockingly.

'Thank you, I think that will do,' she muttered, as she unwrapped the burger. She took a dainty bite out of it. 'Mmm, you're right, this is really good.'

'Thanks for sharing the obvious truth,' he muttered. 'But you're changing the subject…why did you walk out of the restaurant like that?'

'What are you? Deaf? Dumb? Maybe both?' she snapped. 'Didn't you hear what the people around you were saying?'

Sano seemed totally unfazed by her insults. 'No, I heard them just fine,' he told her. 'What I meant was, why did you let them get to you?'

'What the hell do you mean?' she demanded. 'Those people were laughing at me, they were insulting me! Did you think I'd just sit there and listen to all that crap from them?'

'No, of course not,' he said quietly, and took a swig from his coke. 'But I'd rather you stood up and told them to stop laughing at you.'

Megumi stared at him. 'Are you insane?' she said. 'I can't do that!'

'Why not? Are you scared of them?' he sneered.

Megumi was now squeezing her burger so tightly Ketchup sauce was starting to drip from it and onto the table. 'How dare you?' she hissed. 'You, who don't know a thing about anything, how can you speak to me like that? Who do you think you are?'

'I'm your guardian, that's who,' Sano said.

'So what if you are?' she exploded. 'You don't understand! You think that standing up and shouting at those people will solve anything? You're wrong! Do you know what would've happened if I had done that?'

'No, I don't,' he replied. 'Why don't you tell me?'

'Fine! I will!' she snapped, now on her feet. She didn't know why he managed to get on her nerves so much, he just did. 'Rumors would've started! People would have more reason to start insulting me! They'd got publish all those nasty stuff about me in the tabloids and magazines! That would give the people more chance to talk about me! And right now, I'd rather keep a low profile, thank you very much! Do you understand now? Or do I have to use more simple words or retort to using crude sign language?'

While she threw her fit of rage, Sano sat quietly and calmly, folding the napkin he was holding. 'No, it's okay, I perfectly understand what you're saying,' he assured her.

'Good!' she fumed, slumping down on her stool and taking a furious bite out of her burger.

'So, what you mainly mean is that you care about what the public think of you, right? You care about others' opinions, isn't that what you were saying?' he asked.

'W-what?' she sputtered.

'That's not good, Megumi,' he told her. 'I understand that you want people to respect you, but what you're doing will never earn you any respect from anyone.'

'What do you mean?' she asked sharply.

'When you don't reply to any of their abuse, people will start to think that they were right about you all along, that they were right about you being the cause of the kid's death, why else wouldn't you respond when they called you murderer on the street?' he said in a reasonable tone. 'They will think you are weak, and that you don't deserve any respect or sympathy.'

'Oh, come off it, you're exaggerating,' she huffed.

'I'm not exaggerating, Megumi, I know what people say about you behind your back, and trust me, it's not pretty,' he told her. 'Now, if you went and gave them a piece of your mind, I'm positive it'll ease off their bitterness a bit.'

'You're not serious, are you?' she said, her eyebrows raised. 'They'll hate me even more if that's possible.'

'No, they won't,' Sano assured her. 'Let me give it to you this way…you and the Yamachis are in a battlefield, and all around you, the public are watching…now, the Yamachis are the ones who are putting up the good fight, they're strong, and you're just standing there and allowing them to hit you…who do you think the public will cheer?'

'The Yamachis?' she said quietly.

'Precisely,' he replied. 'Are you getting my point here?'

'Yeah, I guess so,' she said, slowly. She smiled. 'So the next time somebody insults me, I take off my shoe and throw it at him?'

'No, no shoes! That's the sort of thing I would do! And it doesn't turn out pretty, I can tell you!' he said, sounding frantic.

Megumi laughed. 'Relax, I was just kidding,' she assured him. 'I will try as much as I can to stick to civil conversations.'

'No shoes?' he said.

'No shoes and no fists, I promise,' she replied, and he grinned. Megumi smiled at him. 'Thank you, Sano, seriously.'

'For what?' he asked her.

'For helping me out like this,' she answered. 'I really don't know what I would've done without you.'

'It's okay, no big deal, no pressure,' he replied. 'I like to help every chance I get…besides, it's my job, isn't it?'

'Yeah, it _is _your job,' she muttered.

So this is what all this is about, wasn't it? He was just doing his job, he didn't care about her or her happiness, he just cared about performing a good job. She felt stupid for thinking that there was an inkling of a chance for Sano to like her. And once again, she thought about the possibility of her being to horrible to be liked anyway.

Sano seemed to notice that she had become rather subdued. 'Hey,' he said gently, resting his hand on her hand. Megumi nearly jumped at his touch. 'I know I sounded selfish when I said it's my job to help, but I really do care about what happens to you, Megumi…I really do.'

Megumi didn't say anything. A smile tugged at her lips but she didn't want him to see how happy his words made her, so she took a bite out of the burger.

'You know, this is really tasty, I liked it,' she said, after she had swallowed.

Sano grinned. 'See? What did I tell you?' he teased her. He didn't need her to tell him what she felt about him, her unspoken words were completely understood by him. 'So, where should we go for dinner?'

**A/N: Okay, how was that? Bit shorter than the usual, I know, and I'm sorry, but I hope you liked it just the same. Let's see, I think I might let Megumi test out Sano's theory in the next chappie, what do you think? Anyway, plz review! And wait for chapter 5!**

**_-ZEN._ **


	5. Chapter 5

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**Hi! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, but I was busy writing another story and I just couldn't update. Anyway, thank you all for the reviews, and…whatever! Just read!**

**CHAPTER 5:**

Megumi locked the front door, put the key in her hand bag, and hurried towards her car, which was waiting for her in the garage. It was another morning, and another day where she had to face the world. She felt a lot better about it this time, though, all due to Sano's words of comfort and concern. She only felt bad about one thing; Sano wasn't in the house, and she so wanted to see him before she left.

Could he have gone and left her now? Did he consider his work done and had left and will never come back? She tried to shake off these thoughts as she unlocked the door to her car. She didn't want to have such thoughts because she really didn't want Sano to leave…she really has come to like him.

She opened the door and climbed inside the car. She slammed the door shut and grabbed the stirring wheel.

'Good! Are we going now?'

Megumi jumped. She glared around at Sano, who was perched excitedly on the passenger's seat next to her. 'Stop doing that!' she scolded him.

'Doing what?' he said, looking confused.

'Appearing everywhere so suddenly!' she told him. 'It freaks me out!'

'Oh,' he said, comprehension dawning upon his features. 'Sorry.'

'No, it's okay…just, don't do it anymore, alright?' she said, and he nodded. 'What are you doing in my car, anyway?'

Secretly, she felt relieved that Sano was in her car. That meant that he hadn't really gone anywhere and left her. But she was still curious to know what he wanted.

'Aren't you going to work?' he asked her.

'Well, yeah, but…' she started.

'Okay, so I'm going to work with you!' he exclaimed, saying it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'Isn't that cool?'

Megumi looked incredulously at him. 'Okay, hold on, wait,' she said. 'Why is it that you want to go to work with me? I can take care of myself, really, if that's what you're doing…guarding me, that is.'

'No, I just want to see you at work,' he replied.

'But…but you've seen me at work before!' she said, exasperated. 'There's really nothing different about it now! Patients come, I talk to them, they thank me and they leave…'

'So? I still want to come with you,' Sano chirped. Then he frowned. 'Unless, of course, you're trying to not let me go to work with you…don't you want me around?'

'What? No, Sano…' she groaned, and massaged her temples. 'Listen, I'm gonna be working today, I think you might distract me if you came along, and I really don't want to be more distracted than I already am…you understand?'

'Oh…alright,' he mumbled. He grinned at her. 'So, can I pick you up for lunch then?'

'Lunch?' she repeated, sounding rather apprehensive.

'Yeah, lunch,' Sano replied. He smirked. 'That's what you have at two p.m., or do you have a posh word for it? Or maybe…you're scared of the idea of having to have lunch outside?'

'No! Of course not!' she said heatedly. 'Okay, you can pick me up at two! Now get out so I can go to work!'

-

'Well, then, Mr. Aikida, I'll see you next Wednesday?'

The man sitting on the chair before her smiled and nodded. 'Yeah, I'll be here,' he told her. 'Thanks for listening, doctor…I must've bored you, eh?'

'No, not at all,' Megumi assured her patient, smiling. 'It's what I do, isn't it? And besides, I really enjoy conversations with my patients.'

Mr. Aikida stood up and pulled on his coat. 'I just wanted to say that I'm on your side, doc,' he said. 'Those people outside know nothing about how it's like to be a psychiatrist, and they certainly know nothing about what happened with that kid…they simply have no right to say all sorts of bullshit about you; you're a very good doctor.'

Megumi was overwhelmed. 'Mr. Aikida…thanks,' she said softly. 'You don't know how much that means to me.'

'Ah, your welcome, doctor,' the man said, smiling. 'Well, I'll see you in three days then. Bye!'

Megumi waved idly at the man as he left the room. Then she pressed the button on her intercom device, and spoke into it. 'Alright, Ikue, any more patients?' she asked her secretary, one of the few people who remained faithful to her.

'Uh…well, there's this guy…he came two weeks ago, Sanosuke Sagara?' Ikue replied. 'He says he wants to talk to you…um, do you want me to send him in?'

Megumi sighed in exasperation. 'Alright, send him in,' she said wearily, but a smile touched her lips just the same.

'Okay,' Ikue agreed, and disconnected.

Megumi quickly checked her reflection in the mirror; she looked good. Then she sat properly on her chair and folded her arms on the desk before her.

Sano barged into the room without knocking on the door. 'Greetings, my favorite doctor!' he exclaimed, grinning widely.

Megumi tried her best not to roll her eyes, but failed. 'First of all, you could knock, second of all, a simple hello would do,' she told him. 'And third of all, I thought I told you not to come here?'

Sano's smile drooped. 'And I would've settled for a smile, y'know,' he muttered. He pointed at the clock hanging on her wall. 'Besides, it's two o'clock now! Time for lunch!'

'Didn't I tell you to wait for my call?' she said wearily.

'Well, I could wait but I'm afraid my stomach wouldn't,' he said, grinning sheepishly. 'Aw, c'mon, Megumi, you have no patients out there, and I bet you're feeling all hungry now! Let's go have lunch together! I'll let you pick the restaurant this time!'

Megumi smiled.

-

Sano pressed his face against the window and stared out at the restaurant Megumi had pulled up before. Somehow, he didn't like what he was seeing.

'Note to self; in the future, don't let Megumi pick the restaurants,' he muttered to himself.

'Oh, for God's sake!' Megumi cried, exasperated. 'Sano, you alone would find the idea of going to one of the most luxurious restaurants in town horrible!'

'These restaurants are just for people who care about appearances! And I don't like to think of you that way!' he said heatedly. He then paused, and Megumi frowned at him. 'That didn't come out right, did it?'

'No, it didn't,' she replied. 'But think about it this way; this restaurant has some pretty amazing meals, they're really good, and I know for sure that you will like them.'

'And I reckon I'll have to eat properly with a fork and a knife, right?' he mumbled.

'Um…how do you eat then?' Megumi demanded. Sano chose not to reply, and she stayed silent for a while before speaking up again. 'You know what? Okay, we won't go to this restaurant.'

Sano watched curiously as she pulled out of her space. 'What are you doing? I thought you loved this restaurant,' he said, quietly. 'I'm not going to force you to eat someplace else if you don't want to.'

'But the food you got from that restaurant yesterday was really good, too,' she replied, without looking at him. 'I'd like to have some more of it.'

'Megumi, you don't have to do it for me,' he persisted. 'I assure you, I can survive in that restaurant.'

'Don't be silly,' she said, laughing. 'What makes you think I'm doing this for you?'

'Okay, so why are you doing this?' Sano asked. 'You hated the place because you got picked on in it the other day…I assumed you'd never want to set foot in there again.'

'Sano, that's exactly why I'm doing this, I want to prove you people wrong,' Megumi whispered.

For a split second, Sano was still staring at her, but then he grinned and sat back in his seat. 'This sounds exciting, we're gonna kick some butt!' he exclaimed, and when Megumi raised her eyebrows at him, he added hastily, 'Or talk…talking is good, I like talking…do you like talking?'

Megumi just shook her head in exasperation. She was feeling really nervous now; the prospect of having to walk into that restaurant again was making her feel really anxious and worried. What if she failed to stand up to the people like the last time? What if she broke down and started crying again? What will Sano think of her then? Will he stop liking her and consider her unworthy of his time, and then he'll decide to ditch her?

'Relax, you'll be fine,' Sano assured her, resting his hand gently on her shoulder.

'What makes you think I'm nervous?' she said, feeling uneasy.

'Well, for one, you're gripping the stirring wheel so tightly…the poor thing, I think it's choking,' he teased her, and she glared at him, but she did relax her grip on the wheel. 'Second, I read your mind…and it told me you're really nervous.'

'I told you to stop reading my mind!' she said angrily. 'My thoughts are private, or else I'd have said them aloud, don't you think?'

'I'm really sorry, I couldn't resist,' he murmured. 'And anyway, how can you even think about me leaving you? I will never leave you no matter what! I'm planning on getting some glue and sticking myself to you if that's what it takes!'

'Thanks,' she said, smiling at him. All of a sudden, she felt better about going to the restaurant. 'But let's leave the glue aside, okay?'

'Yeah, good idea,' he said, nodding his head vigorously.

Megumi drove in silence. Neither she nor Sano exchanged a word during the ride. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence; in fact, she felt it was really pleasant. They arrived at the restaurant in a short while. She found a vacant spot in the parking lot, and they both climbed out of the car.

Sano took her hand and squeezed it gently. 'You ready?' he asked her.

'Yeah, I think,' she said quietly. 'Let's go in.'

Sano let go of her hand, and they walked, side-by-side, towards the restaurant. Sano pushed the door open and let her through, and they both crossed towards the counter. Megumi glanced out of the corner of her eyes at the people in the restaurant, and was rather unnerved to see that the guy who had insulted her yesterday was sitting right there, with the same friends and at the same table. Sano noticed her uneasiness, and took her hand in his, smiling reassuringly at her.

'Okay, what do I get you?' the guy at the counter asked.

'What do you want?' Sano asked her.

'Um…the one we had yesterday,' Megumi murmured. 'The cheese burger?'

'Alright…two cheese burgers then,' Sano told the guy. He nodded and went to get their order. He looked around at Megumi. 'Do you want to sit down?'

'No,' Megumi murmured, holding tightly onto his hand. 'I'll wait here with you.'

Sano didn't say anything. They both waited till the guy came back with their orders, and then they both picked up their trays and went to find an empty table. They found one and sat down. Megumi started unwrapping her burger, hands trembling as she did. Sano watched her warily as he ate at his own burger.

Megumi could see the man who had insulted her the other day from where she was sitting, and she saw that he was pointing at her and snickering amongst his group. She tried to ignore him and turned her attention to her burger. She had only taken her first few bites when the first insult reached her ears.

'…of course, some one with enough brains wouldn't come here again,' the man said. 'But, I guess that goes to prove the point that they really are stupid and have no idea whatsoever about what they're doing.'

Megumi jaw clenched, and she gripped her burger tightly. Sano just gave her an encouraging smile over his burger.

_Don't crack now, don't cry, don't lose your cool…Sano's sitting right next to you, he won't let the man harm you, don't flip now…don't…_

'It just shocks me how they became doctors when they probably have intelligence the size of a tiny teaspoon,' the man sneered. 'That just shows that it was really their fault innocent lives were lost, don't you think?'

Megumi nerves reached their break point. She put down her burger, took a deep breath, and stood up. Everyone in the restaurant had his or her eyes on Megumi now.

'Oh! I think we're gonna be having another crying fiasco!' the man leered. 'Who betted on her lasting less than five minutes in here?'

'Why don't you just shut up?' she snapped.

The man wasn't fazed at all. 'And we find that she actually is able to speak!' he said, smirking.

'What the hell is wrong with you, you bastard? Do you enjoy making fun of me or something? Is someone paying you to actually sit there and insult me the way you're doing?' she spat at him. 'Well, I want you to get off my back! Do you think that this entire situation is my fault? I didn't go and tell that kid to jump off the bridge and kill himself! I did a very good job, you can go and ask any other patient who came to me before Taito, and they'll tell you the same thing! I helped lots of people; I stopped lots of them from causing themselves some serious injury! Who the hell do you think you are to come here and judge me by one single patient?'

The man snorted. 'A patient…who may I remind you, killed himself because you didn't do a good job,' he muttered.

'Weren't you listening to me?' she snapped. 'Are you deaf or dumb or something? I said…it. Wasn't. My. Fault! If you want some one to blame go for the parents! They took their kid off the treatment six weeks too early! They assumed that their son was well again and wouldn't listen to me when I told them to keep him some more, and the next day he goes and kills himself! Do you think I feel happy about it? NO! I DON'T! I care deeply for the fate of my patients, and wouldn't want anything to happen to any of them! And, pray tell me, what would I have gained by telling Taito to kill himself? Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you think I'm happy to have the entire world screaming in my face that they hate me and they'd rather see me jumping off the bridge than the kid? Do you think it makes me happy, you perverted sicko? Huh? Do you?'

The man stared at her, too stunned for words. Every one else was silent too. Sano had just finished his burger and was wiping his mouth on his napkin.

Megumi felt gratified. 'No, I thought not,' she sneered. 'Well, if you have anything else to say to me, I'll be waiting for you in my office, you could use some treatment, a person with a bitchy attitude such as yours needs to be sorted out, don't you think?'

With that, she tossed her hair back over her shoulders and sat down. She was still reeling from all the excitement and intensity of the situations, and couldn't help but smile.

She leaned forward across the table to Sano. 'I did it!' she whispered excitedly. 'I stood up to them!'

What happened next was totally unexpected. Sano had leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled back after a few minutes, and was looking at her in an odd sort of way.

'I'm so proud of you, Meg,' he said softly.

Megumi stared at him, still leaning across the table. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She shook her head, as if shaking herself from a trance, and sat back in her chair. Fortunately, everyone was busy discussing what she had just spat at the guy to notice anything.

Sano was watching her apprehensively, and she smiled at him. Somehow, his kiss made her feel happier than the stunned silence she had earned herself a minute ago.

-

**A/N: Ah! Wasn't that nice? I worked so hard on this chappie so you'd better like it and you'd better have a big, juicy review up your sleeves for me, alright? I'm waiting! Oh, and you, too, wait for my next chappie!**

_**-ZEN.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**Hi! Thank you all for review! I'm really glad you liked my last chappie, coz I was afraid you might find it kinda lame, so…thanks! Anyway, I don't feel like babbling today so I'll let you get on with the story. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 6:**

'Sano, thank you…'

Megumi took a quick glance at the man sitting next to her, before looking down at her hands, which were clasped tightly in her lap. They had left the restaurant a few minutes ago, and Sano was now driving them back in her car to her office.

Sano grinned at her. 'Megumi, you've been saying that for the last five minutes, I swear I got the hint,' he teased her.

'No, I'm serious,' she replied, looking at him intently. 'If it weren't for you, I would've never gathered up the courage to stand up to that bastard…so, thank you.'

'You're welcome,' he replied.

Megumi looked away from him. 'Besides, that's not the only reason for my thanks,' she whispered, blushing. The memory of their kiss had engulfed her completely. She could still feel his lips on hers, and feel that sweet kiss he gave her, and it was great. 'You know what I'm talking about, don't you?'

'Of course I do, you're thanking me for introducing you to the world of fast food!' he exclaimed, and Megumi stared at him. Sano laughed at her reaction, and he reached out and gently rubbed her cheek. 'Kidding…I know what you're talking about, and I thank you as well…it meant a lot to me when you didn't pull back.'

Megumi smiled. Sano removed his hand and focused back on his driving, but the spot were he touched her was still warm and tingling. She leaned comfortably against her door and watched the passer-bys. Things simply couldn't have been better.

They finally reached the building where Megumi's office was, and Sano pulled up before it. Megumi reached for the door's handle, but Sano stopped her.

'Sano, what?' she demanded.

'Are you absolutely sure you need to return to work?' he asked.

'Yes, Sano, I need to go to work,' she answered. 'Some patients have appointments with me today, I can't simply cancel them!'

'Oh, well…I guess you're right; work comes before play,' he mumbled. 'But you'll be home in time for dinner, won't you?'

Megumi laughed. 'Sano, is food all what you think about?' she demanded.

'No, I occasionally think about you,' he whispered, looking shyly at her.

Megumi smiled at him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. 'Yes, Sano, I'll be back in time for dinner,' she told him.

-

Megumi pulled up into the garage of her house. She turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. She locked the car and walked towards the house. She took out her keys and unlocked the door. She stepped inside.

'Sano?' she called into the house, as she shut the door behind her.

She shrugged off her coat and was just hanging it up on the wooden peg by the door when Sano came in through the living room's door. He was wearing an elegant white suit, and he looked amazing in it.

'Megumi…hi,' he said, smiling warmly at her. He took her hand and planted a soft kiss on it. 'Welcome home.'

'H-hi,' she replied. She frowned slightly; something felt wrong. 'Er…what were you doing?'

'Oh, you'll see in a moment,' he assured her. He offered her his arm. 'Shall we go now?'

'Oh…okay,' she agreed, linking arms with him.

He frowned at her for a moment. 'I knew something was wrong,' he said, and clicked his fingers. Megumi's business suit was immediately replaced with a beautiful, flowing, white gown. She gaped openly at it. 'There…that's better.'

Feeling more bewildered than ever, Megumi allowed him to stir her through the door and into her living room…or at least, what she thought was her living room…because it didn't look remotely like it.

It looked like a picture taken from the finest restaurants in the world. All her furniture was gone, and instead a single round table stood in the middle of the room, on which a chandelier and a vase of beautiful red roses were placed. There were two chairs at the table, and at each chair stood a waiter dressed in a black suit.

The room was dimly lit and soft music was playing from invisible speakers. Rose petals graced the floor and marvelous bouquets of roses decorated the walls, and a faint smell of musk hovered in the air.

Megumi stared at all this. 'Sano…this…this is beautiful!' she whispered. She looked around and smiled at him. 'Thank you!'

'Glad you liked it,' he replied.

He led her over to the table, and pulled out a chair for her, even though the waiters were there to do that job. She sat down, and went and took the other chair. The waiters immediately bent down and handed them both a leather-bound menu.

'We'll call you when we're ready to order,' Sano said quietly.

The waiters nodded, and retreated a few steps away from the table, before vanishing completely. Megumi stared at the spot were they had been standing before turning around to stare at Sano.

'Sano, what's all this about?' she demanded. 'When you said dinner, I didn't expect something this fancy!'

Sano frowned. 'I thought you liked fancy restaurants?' he said, sounding a bit worried.

'What? Oh, yeah, I do! But you don't!' she pointed out.

'We're talking about what _you_ like here, not about what I like,' he replied.

'Sano, is something wrong? Why are you being extremely sweet and nice all of a sudden?' she demanded.

Sano smiled reassuringly at her. 'Don't worry, Megumi, everything's fine, I just realized I wasn't appreciating you well enough,' he told her.

But Megumi didn't feel like everything was fine. There was something broken about Sano now; he wasn't his usual cheerful and funny self. She wondered what could've happened with him while she was away at work.

'Shall we have a look at the meals?' he asked suddenly.

'Um…okay, let's have a look,' she agreed, and she opened her menu.

The list of meals was _l-o-n-g._ Megumi could almost swear that every single meal in the world was available on the menu. Her eyes traced the names, and kept shooting furtive glances at Sano; _what the hell was going on in that mind of his?_

'Did you find anything you like?' he asked after a few minutes, setting his menu aside.

'Everything seems really good,' she admitted.

'Okay, then, shall we order everything?' he asked.

'What? No! Of course not!' she exclaimed. 'That would be an extreme wastage of food, because I certainly won't be able to eat everything!'

Sano smiled, and nodded. 'Alright, then, what do you want?' he asked her.

'I don't know, why don't you pick?' she asked.

'Shall we have soup first?' he suggested. She nodded. 'How does vegetable soup sound?'

'Great,' she told him.

'And some salad…and later on, some shrimps and escargots, and some fricassee…' he said, and Megumi looked questioningly at him. 'It's a plate of meat pieces served in a thick sauce…it's very good, I think you'll like it.'

'Okay,' she said.

'We're ready to order now,' Sano said to no one in particular, and the two waiters appeared at his side. 'I assume you know what we want?'

'Vegetable soup, salad, shrimps and escargots, fricassee…' the waiter said in a flat tone. Each plate appeared on the table as he pronounced it. 'Will you have champagne along with it?'

Sano looked around at Megumi, and she nodded in agreement. 'Champagne will be good,' Sano told them.

Immediately, a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses appeared at the table. 'Call us if you need anything else,' they chorused, and disappeared.

Megumi massaged her temples; this was all extremely weird for her. She looked up at Sano. 'Couldn't you have simply magicked the meals out of thin air yourself?' she asked.

'Nah, I'm a bad cook,' Sano replied.

Megumi didn't even bother to ask how he was a bad cook when no cooking seemed to be involved in the whole process.

'This is all just _too _bizarre!' she exclaimed. 'I'm not used to having waiters disappear before my eyes!'

'No, they're not like your everyday waiters, are they?' he said, smiling. 'Do you want me to get them back?'

'No! It's fine!' she replied. 'Let's just eat, shall we?'

Sano smiled again and picked up his spoon. He and Megumi started drinking down their soup silently. Megumi wiped her mouth on her napkin when she finished.

'This was really good,' she admitted. 'I don't think I've ever tasted anything like it before.'

'I'm glad you liked it,' he murmured. 'Why don't you start on the rest of the food now? I know you'll like it as well.'

The good food and the good surroundings didn't make Megumi feel any better about this whole dinner deal. Sano was silent all the time, and he wasn't making any of his sarcastic comments at all. He just ate silently and slowly, Megumi found that she was eating faster than him, and being a slow eater herself, she found it quite surprising.

And there was that broken look which clouded Sano's handsome features. Something had happened in those few hours while she was at the office, although she didn't really know _what._

Finally, after they were both done, Sano poured them both glasses of champagne. Megumi picked up her glass and was about to take her first sip when Sano raised his own.

'I'd like to propose a toast,' he said quietly, and Megumi, automatically, brought her glass close to his. 'To Megumi Takani, the most beautiful woman to grace the surface of the Earth.'

'Oh…Sanosuke…' she said softly, as they clinked glasses together. 'Thank you.'

Sano smiled and nodded. He, then, brought the glass to his lips and drank to her, finishing his glass fairly quickly. He set it down on the table and stood up. Megumi, who had just taken her first few sips, stared up at him.

'Sano, where are you going?' she asked.

'There's something I need to do,' Sano told her. 'I'm going to be late, so don't wait for me.'

'But…' she started to protest. _Didn't he want to talk about what happened today? Doesn't he want to discuss…us?_

'I'm really sorry, Megumi, I didn't want to leave…but this is important, you must understand that,' he said gently. Megumi nodded, although she was scowling. 'Oh, and before I go…'

He took the glass from her and set it on the table. He bent down and then he placed a hand gently underneath her chin and pulled her face towards him. He kissed her…deeply and passionately. Megumi could only widen her eyes in surprise.

He pulled away, smiled at her for a moment, and then he straightened up and left the room. He stopped by the door. 'Good bye, Megumi,' he whispered.

'Good…bye,' she replied, still staring at him. _Why did his good-bye sound so final?_

And then he disappeared.

-

**A/N: Okay, that's it! Now, aren't you all curious to know what was up with Sano in this chapter? I mean, I know he was sweet and everything, but you felt something was wrong, right? Well, to know what was wrong, you'll just have to wait for my seventh chapter, and, of course, review. Remember, I won't update unless I get a decent amount of reviews, people!**

**-_ZEN._**


	7. Chapter 7

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…but, as I always say, Sanosuke would simply do…**

**Hello! I'm back! Thank you all for the amazing reviews! Anyway, I'm not finding time to update more often because school started and I'm being loaded with homework. But I'll try to update every chance I get, I promise. Anyway, on with the chapter! Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 7:**

The alarm bell rang shrilly, announcing seven thirty a.m.

Megumi reached out blindly and shut the alarm off. She opened her eyes slowly against her eyelids will; they seemed to want to remain shut for a longer time, but Megumi didn't want to sleep; she wanted to wake up, go downstairs, and find Sanosuke. She knew, or rather, she hoped he would be dead asleep on her living room couch, his mouth hanging open and his gentle snores filling the room. She had never seen him while he was asleep, but that's how she assumed he would look like when sleeping.

Last night had really unnerved her; Sano had been so quiet, so sad. When he said good-bye, she really felt that he was telling her good-bye for the last time; that he won't be coming back. That's why she wanted to wake up and go check if he was really there.

Pushing her bed sheets away, Megumi scrambled out of her bed. She pulled her robe around her and left the room. She went down the stairs, heart thudding loudly in her chest. She reached the landing.

'Sano?' she called out.

No reply. _So maybe he was sleeping. _Clinging on to that hope, Megumi made her way to the living room. She peered inside, expecting to see Sanosuke's mass of brown hair any second now. But she didn't. Nothing in the room related to Sano, even the whole dinner ware from last night had disappeared. Megumi was crest-fallen.

She walked away from the living room, and headed to the next likely room for Sano to be in; the kitchen. Maybe he was sitting there at the table, eating a bawl of cereal…or maybe a cheese burger. Do people have cheese burgers for breakfast? Or maybe he was just sitting there, nodding off his chair while he waited for her to wake up.

She smiled lightly at the mental image and stepped into the kitchen. Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Sano wasn't there. There weren't even any remains of left-over breakfast; the kitchen was completely empty.

Megumi felt a knot tighten in her chest. _Where was he? _She had grown to the site of him, even though she had just been with him for barely three days. The idea of not having him around was just wrong. It made her feel really panicky and insecure. When Sano had been with her, she always felt happy and safe, but now that he was gone…

Megumi didn't even want to think of the possibility that he might be gone. She was sure that he was around her somewhere. Maybe he was out in the yard, doing God-knows-what.

She hurried to the front door and pulled it open. She stepped out onto the front porch. She looked around. 'Sano!' she called again, although she couldn't see him anywhere.

Again no reply. Sano wasn't there. Sighing heavily, she started to walk back into the house. Then she noticed the newspaper and the envelopes sticking out of her mailbox. She scowled. _What? Another bunch of hate mail?_

She grabbed the letters and went back inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She went back to the kitchen and pulled herself up on a stool. She checked the first envelope. Her name and address were written on the front. She tore the envelope open and pulled out the sheet of paper inside. Her eyes scanned the miniscule handwriting.

'_Dear Dr. Takani, _

_I must say I was really impressed by what you did in the restaurant; standing up for yourself and all. I was just going over today's paper and I found this article in the third or forth page, and they were ranting over how brave and strong you were in the restaurant when you confronted that man who was insulting you. I suppose you don't know, but that man is a reporter, and he was deeply impressed by you. _

_We were all led into believing that you really were the cause of Taito Yamachi's death, but you cleared all our doubts. You're right; it was his parents' fault. They shouldn't have taken him off the treatment early just because they thought he was fine. I mean, do they seriously think that they're the doctors around here?_

_I believe you were done a great amount of injustice, and I assure you that I'll always be on your side whatever anybody says. _

_Sayonara!_

_Yours truly,_

_Kana Achi.'_

Megumi clutched the letter with trembling hands, unable to believe what she had just read. She quickly reached out for the paper and flipped over to the third page, and there it was.

**"DOCTOR PROVES HERSELF INNOCENT!"**

Megumi quickly went over the content of the article, which described in detail what had happened in the restaurant, and added a lot of stuff in her favor. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

All this happened to me because of Sanosuke. Because he had stood next to her and told her to stand up to people. He was one who had helped her. He supported her. She cared about nobody's support but his. And now, he wasn't there to support her anymore…that was obvious at the moment, unless she was very much mistaken.

She went over the next letters; they were all the same. All written in her favor and filled with compliments and words of encouragement.

'Oh, Sano,' she murmured. 'I wish you were here to see what I had achieved.'

'He won't be here anymore.'

Megumi jumped, and dropped the letter she was holding from her hands. She whirled around and stared at the man standing in her doorway.

He was dark-haired with sharp green eyes. He was tall and broad-shouldered and wore a crisp black suit. He looked extremely good-looking, maybe even more handsome than Sanosuke, but he didn't have Sano's warm smile and soulful eyes.

'Who…who are you?' she demanded, shaking slightly.

'My name is Shogo Amakusa, I'm your guardian angel,' he said in a flat tone.

Megumi suddenly felt angry. 'What do you mean, you're my angel?' she demanded. 'Sano's my angel! And what's this crap about not him being around anymore?'

'Sano was removed from your service and was appointed to somebody else,' he explained. 'I was asked to fill his position.'

'But I don't want you to be my angel! I want Sano back!' she exploded, her eyes welling with tears.

'I'm afraid that's out of order,' he told her.

'Why? Why is it out of order?' she demanded.

'Sano made a mistake, he's broken the rules, he's on probation now,' Shogo told her. 'And as punishment for him, he isn't allowed to make contact with you anymore.'

'Sano didn't make mistakes! He did his job extremely well! Sano really helped me with the ordeal I've been going through! He didn't break any rules!' she snapped.

'You don't even know what rules I'm talking about,' Shogo said in a flat tone.

'Ok, fine!' she said. 'I'll pretend to be interested and ask about those rules! What rule did Sano break? What mistake did he do?'

Shogo nodded. He looked unflinchingly at her. 'Sano fell in love with you,' he said quietly.

Megumi blinked. 'He fell in love with me?' she whispered, the simple knowledge making her feel all warm on the inside. _Sano's in love with me! _'That's his mistake? He fell in love with me?'

'You don't understand, Sano isn't supposed to fall in love with you, let alone kiss you,' Shogo said. 'And Sano did both. Angels aren't supposed to fall in love with the people they protect; that's considered as breaking the rules.'

'And he was punished by…?' she said, and her voice trailed off.

'By not being allowed to make contact with you…ever,' Shogo replied.

'But that can't be happening!' Megumi cried. 'Sano will have to come back! He has to come and see me! I want to see him!'

'I'm afraid that's not possible,' Shogo said.

'No! There has to be a way! Sano can't simply stop seeing me!' she screamed.

'Well…there is one way,' Shogo said, sounding a bit hesitant.

'Really? What is it? Tell me! I'll do anything!' she cried.

'It's not you who has to do anything,' Shogo told her. 'It requires a sacrifice on Sano's side.'

'Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?' she asked, frowning.

'Sano will have to give up his wings in order to see you again,' Shogo said, quite expressionlessly.

'Give up his wings?' Megumi repeated. Even without knowing what it meant, it sounded quite horrible to her.

'By giving up his wings, Sano will no longer be an angel,' Shogo explained. 'And I don't think Sano will be about to do that; if there's one thing Sano loves in the world, it's being an angel…you can't simply take that away from him.'

Megumi was speechless. So Sano had to choose between her and being an angel. On normal conditions, a woman would be angry if a man didn't pick her over his job, but Sano wasn't a normal man, and this wasn't a normal condition. And she knew how much Sano loved being an angel; it was really obvious. She couldn't simply ask him to drop it for her.

Megumi felt bitter tears well in her eyes. _This wasn't fair. The only man who'd ever really loved me and helped me was gone, and I'm sure he'd never come back. And what makes it more terrible is…I've come to love him, myself._

She looked up at Shogo, and saw that his cold expression had melted into that of pity and sympathy. Great! Her new angel pitied her now! But she felt that she ought to be pitied. Nobody would want to be in a situation such as hers.

_Sano…_

She was already missing him terribly. His easy laugh. His sarcastic comments. His encouraging pep talks. The way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. The way he smiled at her. The way he looked at her. The way he kept reading her mind. His happy, cheerful expression. She simply missed everything about him now.

And knowing that she'll never be able to see any of these things ever again, made her choke. The tears leaked out of her eyes, and she buried her face in her arms against the cool surface of the table.

Shogo just stood and watched her cry.

If Sano were here…he would've held her in his arms and murmured soothing words in her ear…but Sano wasn't here. He will never be here again.

**-**

**A/N: Wasn't that sad? What do you think is going to happen now? Will Sano come back for Megumi? Or will he choose his job over her? I'm waiting for your reviews, so don't make me wait long! And wait for my next chappie!**

_**-ZEN.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**Hello, folks! I'm sorry for the long wait, but my computer's been totally screwed and I couldn't write a thing. Besides, I was so busy with school work; senior year is really and truly tough! But I'm back now, and with my eighth chappie too!**

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 8:**

Megumi wrapped the bathrobe tightly around her body as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her face was flushed pink from the steam in the bathroom, and her eyes were as red…from crying, of course.

Three days had passed ever since Sano had left her, and she was a complete mess. She had stayed home on her living room couch, flipping between TV channels. She wasn't eating anything and she hadn't even bothered to go to work…or even take a simple shower. She had been feeling really stressed and frustrated and upset, and she finally decided that nothing could calm her better than a warm bath.

She was wrong. When she had immersed her body into the hot water, everything started coming back to her. Her first meeting with Sano, his arrival at her place, the lunches they had together, the dinner he had prepared for her, his kiss…and she had started crying all over again.

She had become dependant on him without even knowing it. Only five or six days passed she had known him, and yet she felt unbelievably attached to him. She felt that her life was bare and empty without Sanosuke in it.

Megumi sighed and went to her room. She looked into her closet for something to wear; she might as well go to work today, maybe that will take her mind of Sano for a while.

Her hands fell on the navy blue silk which was the dress Sano had bewitched her into. A sharp tingle went through her body and she shuddered as images of that memory came flashing into her mind, and she bit down on her lip.

Almost hesitantly, she took the dress out of the closet. She held it gingerly in her hands as she made her way to the full-length mirror she had.

She took off her robe and pulled the dress on, struggling to pull the zipper up; it had been so much easier when Sano had put it on her with one snap of his fingers. She studied her image in the mirror; something was missing. The hair…and the necklace of pearls. She quickly headed to her dresser and combed her hair, before fixing it the best she could; she had never really been an expert in such stuff. Then she reached for her jewelry box and pulled out a string of white pearls.

She pulled it around her neck and bent her head down as she tried to buckle it. She gasped when she suddenly felt a hand on hers. She looked up into the mirror and her jaw nearly dropped. She stared in awe as Sano took the necklace's buckle from her fingers. Her hands dropped to her side as she watched him buckling the necklace. When he was done, he bent down and kissed the back of her neck.

Megumi shivered slightly at his touch, and she slowly turned around to face him. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up into his face. 'You shouldn't be here,' she croaked.

'No?' he said softly, his eyes wandering over her.

'No,' she choked, shaking her head. 'You're not allowed…you'll be punished, you'll be put on pro…'

And then, without any warning, Sano cupped her face between his hands and kissed her. Megumi's eyes widened in shock as she felt his lips on hers. For a moment, she remained frozen. It was as if will was torn away from her, and all she could do was just stand there and get kissed by Sano. But then she came back to her senses and she pulled away from him. She backed away from him until she bumped into the wooden edge of her dresser.

Sano looked hurt. 'Megumi, what…?' he said.

'Sano, I don't want you to get punished because of me, I really don't,' she whispered, and tears leaked out of her eyes. 'I think you'd better leave now.'

'But I don't want to leave,' Sano replied, sounding as stubborn as a five-year old.

'Sano, don't make this any more difficult for me, I'm asking you to leave right now,' she said. Much as she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hug him, much as she wanted him to stay, she knew he had to leave. 'Please.'

'How do you know I'll be punished?' he asked, sounding playful.

'That's what Amakusa told me,' Megumi said, exasperated. 'He said that if you ever came to see me again, you'll be put on probation.' She looked up at him and was surprised to see that he was smiling. 'What?'

'Okay, I'm really happy you care about me not being punished, but you really don't have to worry about me, Megumi,' he insisted. 'I won't be punished.'

'You're not?' she said, blinking. 'So Amakusa was lying to me?'

'No, Amakusa wasn't lying,' Sano replied. 'The guy's as straight as an arrow; he would never lie.'

'So…' Megumi said, and then it dawned on her. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. 'Oh, my God…Sano, you didn't.'

'Did what?' he said softly, as he took a step towards her.

'Your wings…you gave up your wings, didn't you?' she whispered. 'You're not an angel any more, are you?'

Sano snapped his fingers together, but nothing happened. 'No magic,' he murmured. 'So I guess I'm not an angel any more…will that make you love me any less?'

'Why?' she choked. 'Why did you do this, Sano? I thought you loved being an angel, why did you give it up then?'

Sano took another step towards her. 'I found I love you more,' he told her.

Megumi's eyes filled with tears. 'You do?' she said, her voice choking with emotion. 'You gave up your job for me? You stopped being an angel just for me?'

'Guess I did,' he murmured.

He was now so close she could feel his warm breath on her face. Finally, she couldn't herself back anymore, with a dry sob, she threw her arms around his neck and began crying into his shoulder. Sano looked alarmed at first, but then he buried his face in her hair and held her tightly in his arms.

'It's okay, Megumi, there's no reason to cry,' he soothed her. 'Everything's going to be alright from now on…I'll make sure of that.'

'Don't ever leave me again,' Megumi sobbed into his shoulder. 'Don't…I need you.'

'I promise I'll never leave you again,' he assured her. He gently pushed her away from him, and then he bent down on his knees in front of her. Megumi, red-eyed and puffy, stared down at him. She watched him as he reached into his pocket and then…he was holding a ring before her. 'Megumi Takani, will you marry me?'

Megumi stared at him in shock. Her eyes traveled between the ring and his face, unable to believe what they were seeing. Sano was proposing to her…she knew she should be happy about it, but…

She knelt down on the floor in front of him. Sano stared, confused, at her as she held both his hands and lowered them down. Then she raised herself up a bit and kissed his forehead. 'No, Sanosuke,' she choked.

Sano looked positively shocked. 'N-no?' he sputtered. 'B-but why? I thought we both loved each other, I gave up my job so I could be with you…why are you turning me down now?'

'I don't think you know what you're throwing yourself into, Sano,' she told him. 'You don't want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life…it won't be fair for you.'

Sano looked incredulously at her. 'Won't be fair?' he repeated. 'And you think what you're doing now is fair?'

'I…' Megumi started, but Sano cut her off.

'No, Megumi, it's not fair,' he said, the anger obvious in his tone. 'It's not fair that even after I've loved you and done so much to make this work, you still won't accept me.'

'But I do accept you, Sano, and I do love you,' she said earnestly. She put a finger to his lips as he opened them to protest. 'It's just that…I'm really not worth the trouble.'

Sano stared at her in disbelief, before grabbing her firmly by the shoulder. 'What do you mean, you're not worth it?' he demanded angrily. 'I don't want to hear you ever saying that again! I would never have thrown my other life away for you if you weren't worth it!'

'Sano…' she choked.

'I love you, Megumi,' he said, saying each word loudly and clearly, as if she couldn't understand simple English. 'And I'm not planning to leave your side until I get a yes, or a nod, or a blush of affirmation from you, okay? I'm going to sit right here until you finally agree to marry me…you're all I ever wanted, and I'm not giving up on you this easily.'

Megumi stared into his deep, chocolate-brown eyes, lost for words. Yes; she did want to marry him, but she really didn't want to bring down that catastrophe down on him. She never really gave that much esteem to herself, she never considered herself to be special. But Sano was special, and he shouldn't be stuck with someone like her…

'Megumi,' Sano croaked, and held up the ring again. 'Please…'

Megumi looked down at the glittering diamond. What was it going to be? A yes…or a no?

**-**

**A/N: Yes, this chapter is over. I know you all want to kill me for ending it this way, but I have some good news! The next chapter is going to be the last! How does that sound? Are you excited to know what happens in the end? If so, then wait for the chappie…oh, and plz review and tell me what you think! BTW, I'm sorry if the chappie was too short.**

**_-ZEN._**


	9. Epilogue

**D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**Hello! I'm back! Sorry I hadn't updated in a long while, but I had been so damn busy! Anyway, here I am, back with my last chappie! I'll meet you at the end of this…so, enjoy!**

**Epilogue:**

'I do'

Megumi shuddered with pure pleasure as Sano slid the golden ring around her finger. He held her hand for a longer while and smiled at her. She returned the smile.

'Miss Megumi Takani,' the priest addressed her, but Megumi didn't look at him. 'Do you take Mr. Sanosuke Sagara to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health?'

'I do,' she murmured, still looking up into Sano's face. She now, in turn, slid a ring around his finger. 'I love you,' she mouthed silently at him.

'I love you, too,' he mouthed back at her.

'With the power invested in me, I now announce you husband and wife,' the priest said. 'You make now kiss the bride.'

Sano swept Megumi into his arms, and she felt like she was on cloud nine. It didn't matter whether or not Sano had wings; he could make her fly anytime. He slowly bent down and planted a soft kiss on her lips. To Megumi, this was, by far, the sweetest kiss she'd ever received from him. This was the kiss which bound the two of them together.

She knew she was doing the right thing. She just had to look into Sano's face to know that this marriage was meant to be. She felt stupid for ever having doubts about her decision. This was the most right thing she'd ever done in her whole life.

They stood there, arms wrapped around each other as they kissed, oblivious to all the people clapping and cheering around them in the church. Megumi had invited her family, employees, patients…and Sano had invited his "friends".Megumi knew he meant fellow angels. When she had walked into the church, she was able to make them out so easily; they all had a faint glow about them which set them apart from the crowd. Megumi wondered whether anyone else could see them, or maybe she was the only one to see them because she had been around Sano a lot…but that didn't matter now…what mattered was that she and Sano were finally together.

Finally, Sano, gently, pulled away from her. Megumi opened her eyes and looked up at him, and saw that he was smiling, and saw, with satisfaction, that he looked genuinely happy.

'Thank you, Megumi,' he whispered.

'For what?' she asked.

'For making me the happiest man alive,' Sano told her.

'I have?' she said.

'From the moment you said I do,' he replied, smiling at her. He stroked her face. 'You're so beautiful.'

Megumi held her hand up to his own and held it against her face. 'Sano…I need to thank you, too,' she murmured.

'What for?' he asked, sounding surprised.

'For making me feel special,' she murmured. 'For making me feel lovable.'

'Did you feel otherwise?' he said, incredulously. Megumi, silently, nodded. Sano cupped her face in his hands in one swift motion. 'But Megumi, you have always been special! You didn't need me to make you special! I consider myself blessed to have you love me!'

Tears welled in Megumi's eyes. 'Oh, Sano…' she whispered.

'On, no, Megumi, don't cry…please, don't…' he said, sounding frantic.

Megumi giggled. 'They're tears of happiness, silly,' she told him. 'From now on, there will never be any tears of grief…because I know you'll always make my life happy, Sano.'

'You can bet on it, Meg,' he whispered, as he pulled her into his arms for another kiss.

'Oh, I will…' she murmured, before his lips fell on hers.

-

**A/N: There! I'm done! Short, but sweet, no? Plz tell me if you like it! I'm waiting for your reviews, and this is my last chapter so you'd all better review! **

**Anyway, you haven't seen the last of me! I'm coming back soon with another SxM fic called, "The Babysitter". Be sure to read it!**

**And finally, I'd like to thank…**

**Crewel, Shimmering Tear, Aldailyn, Lara, Hawk-EVB, meg-chan, roosterboy, meant2be, Megumi, Shihaku zetsumei, Sir Gaweain of Camelot, fox-san, Nyako, Akanke, -little oro-, Adelaide MacGregor, sanodevil, kawaii meeh, DemonSlayer205, Crystal Winds, Tenshi Lynn, Ninie, Nika Phoenix, JK, Stela, Tari Laitaine, CuteandPetite, kApiNkc0w, tamz, Grace 07, black slashed dragon, M. Kasshoku, Sky Fairy 77, Shadow Koneko, kitsune lullaby**

…**for reading and reviewing my story! Thanks!**

_**-ZEN.**_


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